Help Feed Problems

[Cornelious]

hi its me again asking about the same stubborn feeding baby corn i have if youve read my other messages youll know that i have a baby corn whihc ive had for about 2 months now and for the first 5 weeks he didnt eat. Eventually on the fifth week i got it to eat a mouse tail, but since then ive tried using the same mouse tail method and other traditional methods but they have all been unsuccessful. I unfourtunatly had to take the snake to the pet store to get it force fed because it just wouldnt eat. Ive force fed it myself since then but im afraid it wont be enough. I have been trying the normal methods before i have to resort to force feeding but they just dont work. I wanted to know what i should do bec. i dont think force feeding it a mousetail once a week will be enough to keep it alive so if im doing something wrong or you have any other advice please reply.

[Axe]

Have you tried putting it together in a small tub with a pinky overnight in a cupboard (or somewhere else nice n' dark?)

That almost always works for me when I've got problem feeders. I've never had to force feed any of mine.

[redarm]

Check out the threads labled ( When do I call it quits) and ( never quit) These will give you some Ideas on feeding. Try a brained pinky head. not the whole body of the pinky.

[Cornelious]

First i would like to thank redarm and anyone else who has helped me for all the information i read the "when do i call it quits" thread and your problem is almost the same as mine and ive tried all the same methods you have. The only problem is they all still havnt worked so for now im gunna have to force/assist feed like ive been doin for the past month or so. Ive had my corn snake for about 3 months and i was wondering in my situation how often should i force feed, currently ive been giving it one mouse tail every 5-6 days. This is a very stressful for me and the snake, someone told me the untill my snake starts eating regularly i shouldnt handle it because it adds to the problem. So since ive barely had a chance to even pick it up. The only thing that i havent tried is using live/dead feeder lizards. I tried the scenting method with a chemical scent and that didnt work but tonight ill try the feeder lizard itself hopefully it'll work. If anyone out there has any methods that havnt already been suggested please let em know.

Thanks Again!

[whiffin]

You could spike his water with vodka one Saturday night, then, when he's drunk, put a pinkie in some pitta-bread, add some salad and chilli sauce and hey presto - a snake with the munchies. :D

Seriously though, I hope your snakes decide to eat soon :(

It seems strange that an animal would actually starve itself to death !!!

[moreptiles]

Sorry to hear about your continued problem. I had a amel stripe male that wouldn't eat. I had about 2 months of frustration where I had tried all the methods (but not the lizzards) to get it to eat. Since it always seemed afraid of me, I tried handling the snake every day for about 10 minutes. After a week of this, I put a live newborn pinky in with the hatchling. This time, he seemed totally different, and not nearly so afraid. In the morning the pinky was in his belly, and he has eaten every week since then (only live pinkys).

Maybe this was just coincidence, but I felt that getting him over the fear factor helped to get him started eating.

Good luck

[redarm]

Cornelious,Try to increase the temp of the viv for a week, if you can. If its at 70 -75 deg. Up it top 80 -85. It got my little girl moving and got her to eat. Unfortunatly she still only eats the heads of the pinkys.

good luck
redarm:)

[slithers]

when left undesturbed does your snake venture out and explore?i know some snakes are very shy and only venture out when it is totally dark and totally silent.a scared snake may not eat no matter what you try.my amel started out that way so i moved her to a real quiet private spot in my house.i noticed after that she would peak her head out of her hide every day as soon as it began to get a little dark outside.she also would not eat for about four weeks.after i moved her i checked her bedding and could see shes been out exploring.i noticed after a while she would use the same route to move to her warm hide,to her water and around the outside of her tank.she left trails virtually in the same place every night.i took a pinky,put it on a piece of paper towel and left it where i noticed she was traveling and left it over night.the next day it was gone.i did this three times with the same result.for my troubled feeder i believe the problem was the snake was too terrified to even move about in her tank.i now can remove her and feed her in a seperate container.may not be your problem but it worked for me.

[Susan]

And if all else fails and you must force feed your little snake again, try something larger than a mouse tail...like a pinky head or a very small newborn pinky. At this stage, your snake may be too weak to eat and needs a little more nurishment. If you're not up to forcefeeding a larger item (it does take longer and is more stressful), get a small feeding tube and syringe (prefered) or an actual feeding syringe (not my 1st choice because many are curved) from your vet (some pet stores may carry these as well) and try a liquid diet. I've had excellent luck with products like Ensure (vanilla flavored) on sick and debilitated snakes.
If you get a small feeding tube (I like the straight metal ones), attach the syringe with about 1/2cc (ml) of warmed Ensure (or generic brand) to the tube. Push the plunger just enough to get the air out of the tube. Gently put the feeding tube into your snake's mouth and insert it until you think the end is in your snake's stomach or close to it. Push in the rest of the liquid and gently remove the feeding tube. The smallest size straight metal feeding tube is about 2-3 inches long and is best for hatchling corns. You can insert the whole tube and it will be placed just about right. Your vet should be able to special order a tube for you and it should cost you under $10. Tell your vet that Webster, MWI, Burns, and Butler all carry them. Do this about once a week, slowly increasing the amount of Ensure to 1 cc (ml). When your snake seems stronger, try every 4-5 days and eventually try the pinkies again. Good Luck!